Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stock Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Southern Company by 24.0% in the first quarter, buying an additional 39,456 shares and bringing its position to 204,145 shares valued at about $19.7 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting $1.32 EPS versus the $1.21 consensus and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The utility also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share, implying a 3.2% yield, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a price target of $99.91.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 39,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $19,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Southern by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593,224 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Southern by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436,212 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Southern by 83.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $95.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.12 and a 200 day moving average of $93.39. The company has a market cap of $108.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.91.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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